Translines EXPRESSApril 17, 2013

Work Zone Safety

Early in his KDOT career, Albert Horn, KDOT Supervisor in Edwardsville, was collecting trash along I-35 in the Kansas City area when a semi-tractor trailer locked its brakes and jack-knifed while avoiding another vehicle. “The rig slid past me before ending up in the median about 100 feet from where I was standing,” he said. “I then realized how fortunate I was and how dangerous this job could be.”Horn was one of the speakers at the statewide safety event Tuesday in Topeka. He was joined by fellow KDOT employee Gary Moulin, Secretary Mike King and KHP Major Mark Goodloe.The safety event was one of several activities taking place in Kansas as part of National Work Zone Awareness Week, April 15-19.See the end of this edition for more Go Orange photos highlighting KDOT’s safety week and check the Go Orange page at www.ksdot.org.

Above, Secretary Mike King speaks at the work zone safety event. Below, city, county and state law enforcement and transportation partners set up a vehicle display at the work zone event.

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Dogged determination: There are a lot of people depending on Darrell Gwaltney. And he knows very few of them. Gwaltney, KDOT’s Permanent Signing Specialist, has been prominent in highway sign-ing for 35 years. In that time, he has contributed to the safety of millions of travelers through the design and placement of signs along Kansas highways. For his “dogged determination to go above and beyond the craft and leave no stone unturned in his effort to make sure every signing situation is as perfectly safe as it can be,” he was awarded a People Saving People award at this month’s Traffic Safety Conference in Wichita That determination, said his nominator, “sometimes requires standing against the wind.”

People Saving People

Darrell Gwaltney

Turkey Hunt

Condolences One shot enough: Secretary Mike King made the most of the one shot he was allowed at this year’s annual Governor’s One-Shot Turkey Hunt on Saturday in Butler County. The Secretary bagged a tom from about 15 yards as it emerged from a wooded area with a brood. And it turned out to be a good one. It was the fourth largest bird taken at the annual event that was started by then-Gov. Mike Hayden 27 years ago. Gov. Hayden, by the way, took the third largest turkey this year. It was the first turkey and first turkey hunt for the Secretary, who, in the past, has hunted dove, quail and pheasant. The Sec-retary’s turkey was donated to a Butler County charitable organization.

Trivia!

1. Charles Hyer is famous for making these in Olathe – some of his customers included Buffalo Bill Cody, Clark Gable, Will Rogers and Dwight Eisenhower.A. Cowboy bootsB. Customized trousersC. Eye glassesD. Smoking pipes

2. How many acres of pasture and rangeland does Kansas have?A. 11.5 million acresB. 15.9 million acresC. 21.5 million acresD. 27.5 million acres

3. What year was the first load of cattle shipped via rail from Kansas?A. 1837B. 1867C. 1887D. 1907 Answers are below

TRIVIA ANSWERS 1. A. Cowboy boots2. B. 15.9 million acres of the 46 million acres of farm ground are used for pasture and rangeland3. B. 1867

Condolences to friends and family of KDOT retiree Clinton Boyd who died April 11 in Newton. He worked as an Engineering Technician Senior in Iola.

DistrictThree

Secretary Mike King spoke to the Norton County Economic Development group Thursday in Norton and also took time to visit with employees at the Norton District com-plex, left, answering questions and address-ing concerns.

Division of Operations

Changes: In the past few months there have many changes to the Division of Operations. In District Five following the retirement of Bob Cook, Wichita Metro Engineer Benny Tarverdi stepped in to be “Acting” District Five Engineer. Brent Ter-striep is filling the role as “Acting” Wichita Metro Engineer. In District One, Mike Stringer has been named the new District Engineer taking the place of Clay Adams who was named the Bureau Chief of the newly-created Bureau of Maintenance. The Bu-reau of Maintenance will provide direct support to the maintenance work of the agency. Other changes include the Bureau of Construc-tion & Maintenance being named the Bureau of Construction & Materials, led by Sandy Tommer. The change combines the Materials Testing, Qual-ity Management and the Pavement Management units into this bureau. The Bureau of Materials & Research is now called the Bureau of Research and is led by Rick Kreider. Joining the Bureau of Design is Founda-tions, Geology and Geotech.

Route changes: KDOT made changes to K-17, K-14 and K-11 recently that include:• K-17 designation being dropped - it has become part of a rerouted K-14 traveling east from Kingman then north to Hutchin-son.• The remaining section of old K-14, which began four miles west of Kingman and ended in Arlington, has become the new K-11.

Benny Tarverdi Brent Terstriep Mike Stringer

Clay Adams Sandy Tommer Rick Kreider

District Five

It is anticipated that these changes will result in a more efficient and safer travel experience for the motoring public. The new state map on KDOT’s website reflects these changes. Special thanks to the Hutchinson Subarea Crew, Kingman Sub-area Crew, El Dorado Area Crew and the Pratt Area Crew for installing these signs on April 4.

District Five Public Affairs Manager Martin Miller explains route designation changes during an interview with KSNW along the highway.

Weather

Finding answers: What car seat should I purchase for my baby? Is my child in the right type of car seat? Is the seat installed correctly? What are the latest car seat laws and recommendations for my child? When can I move from my child from a booster seat to a seat belt? When can my child move to the front seat? If you aren’t sure about the answers to these ques-tions, don’t fret – help is available. To find an inspec-tion station or checkup event in your area, where trained technicians are available, go to http://www.ktsro.org/child-passenger-safety. If you are in the Eisenhower State Office Building, Phyllis Marotta in the Traffic Safety Section is available by appoint-ment to check your child’s seat or can give some quick pointers on how to make the task of installing a seat a little less confusing.

Will winter ever end? That seems to be the question as cold temperatures and snow are possible today and tomorrow. In addition, there are possibilities of tornadoes, damaging winds and heavy rainfall. Be sure to call 511 or check kandrive.org. This photo is of one of the Hoxie Subarea Office’s trucks after the storm that hit western Kansas in late March. The ice build-up shows that after treating the roads, employees spend a lot of time getting equipment cleaned and ready to go again.

Interstate work: While there are a number of K-routes in north central Kansas scheduled for preservation projects this year, there is a focus on Interstate/four-lane freeway preservation as well.I-70 will be the site of a couple of projects. Work is under way to replace expansion joints on bridges west of the rest areas near mile marker 265 in Saline County. And a major pavement reha-bilitation project in Dickinson County involving overlays, eight bridge rehabilitations and two bridge replacements will begin soon. Patching on I-135 in Saline County should begin next week. And a patch and overlay project will begin in May on a stretch of U.S. 81 in Ottawa County.

District Two

Expansion joint replacement work takes place on I-70.

Child Passenger Safety

Eighteen-month-old Faye

Hodgson sits securely in

her rear-facing child passenger

safety seat.Nearly 75

percent of all child seats are

not installed properly.

Go Orange!

Above, District One Facebook cover. Right, Gary Moulin speaks at the safety event about his experiences in work zones.

District Three employees in Norton on Go Orange day.

Left, Secretary Mike King speaks to employees. Above, retiree Mike Crow, Albert Horn, Deputy Secretary Jerry Younger and Gary Moulin.

Above, employees look at the memorial display at the work zone safety event in Topeka. Right, employees from Columbus Subarea Office.